Visiting Carmichael Industries
by wtchcool
Summary: "Orwell is Watching sent me… Are you alright, Mr. Carmichael?" In which a blogger tries to enlist the help of Carmichael Industries, but isn't the only citizen of Palm City interested in the company's services. It is not necessary to have seen both shows in order to read.
1. Chapter 1

"Visiting Carmichael Industries"

By Wtchcool

Disclaimer: Better be thorough. I do not own: "The Cape," "Chuck," "Ark Corporation," "Orwell is Watching," "Carmichael Industries," or "Anarchy."

"Greta?" Chuck asked his potential client. Carmichael Industries, the company he and his wife Sarah had founded with the money from the Winterbottoms' wedding present, had been reborn. No longer was the company the Bartowskis' excuse to continue working as spies without being under the thumb of the government. The only form of espionage the firm dealt in these days was electronic. Right now, Chuck Bartowski would swear that the woman in front of him had been a Greta.

Not that he thought she looked like the name Greta would fit her. To Chuck, this had a certain significance. Back in the days when he had been a spy for the C.I.A. and the N.S.A., the government had assigned a number of female agents to work with his team—agents that would reuse the same code name, Greta.

He supposed a lack of creativity on the agencies' part was just another reason he was glad to be rid of that life. Was this Greta here now to try to drag him back in?

"I think you have me confused with someone else, Mr. Carmichael. My name is Julia Greenwood. Orwell is Watching sent me… Are you alright, Mr. Carmichael?"

The reason Chuck Bartowski, computer nerd and proud of it, had once been a secret agent was because of the computer in his head. The Intersect, designed by his father, Stephen, was a database of top secret government info. (Or it was in its simplest form. The updated version Chuck now possessed had extra features.) Certain stimuli would trigger Chuck to "flash" and see a series of encrypted images that would unlock information for the young man.

In this case, the stimulus was the name "Orwell is Watching." Chuck hadn't heard of it before, but he suddenly knew that Orwell's blog was devoted to publishing exposés against Peter Fleming; his corporation, ARK and the super villain Chess that had plagued Orwell's home, Palm City before being unmasked as Vince Faraday. No one knew Orwell's true identity or at least, no one in the government did. And there was something else… Orwell had known ties to a cyber-terrorist named Anarchy and was himself suspected of possible involvement in cyber terrorism.

When you knew what to look for, you could always tell when Chuck flashed. His eyes would roll back and his lids would flutter, almost as though he were having some sort of seizure. Chuck recovered himself quickly.

"I'm fine. And you can call me Chuck. You say that Orwell sent you, Miss…?"

"Julia," Orwell repeated, just catching herself before she could contradict her statement. She never gave her real name to anyone anymore and it was sometimes hard for her to keep track of her different covers.

Even her partner in fighting crime, Vince Faraday, didn't know her true identity. How could she admit to him that she was secretly the daughter of the one man he loathed most in this world?

"Right, Julia. Sorry, you just really look like someone I used to work with. What brings you to Carmichael Industries?"

"Well, first, you have to understand that it's difficult for Orwell to admit that he needs help," she said. The public had assumed that the infamous blogger was male and she encouraged the misconception, as she felt it could only cement her anonymity.

"Orwell is a master of technology, an artist if you will," she continued.

"You didn't come here just to recommend him for a job, did you?"

"No." Orwell was not blushing because Flemings did not blush. "I'm just trying to emphasize that it was a big step for Orwell to seek help from another computer expert."

"Duly noted," Chuck said before falling silent and waiting for the visitor to proceed.

"For some time now, Orwell has been unable to hack into ARK Corporation's computers. I've been sent to hire you to get the job done."

"I see," Chuck exhaled slowly.

"Will you do it?"

A buzzer sounded. Chuck picked up his office phone.

"Yes?"

"Chuck, you've got another potential customer here to see you," Morgan Grimes informed his best friend.

"Can it wait?"

"Well, he does have an appointment."

"Who is it?" Chuck asked.

"It's Peter Fleming," Morgan replied. Speak of the devil. Peter Fleming, the CEO of the corporation he was now being asked to virtually break into, was also interested in retaining his services.

Why did the words 'conflict of interest' come to mind?

"Thanks, Morgan. Have him wait for me in the conference room. I'll be right with him." Chuck turned back to Julia.

"I'm afraid I'll have to get back to you on that."

"You need to discuss it with your business partners?" Jamie Fleming, Peter's daughter asked.

"Something like that," Chuck replied. "Why don't you leave me a number so I can give you a call and let you know the decision—?"

"I'd prefer to wait here."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'd rather wait for your decision."

"But I have to meet another potential client. And talk with my colleagues—"

"I don't have anything pressing to do at the moment. If you're going to blow me off, I'd like you to do it to my face."

"…Alright then, go back out and see Morgan and he'll show you where you can wait, okay?" There was no way in hell he was going to leave a possible cyber-terrorist in his office unsupervised.

"Fine," Jamie replied, rising from her chair.

Shaking his head, Chuck braced himself to hear Peter Fleming's story.

It was just his luck that the billionaire had come to ask him to track down the elusive blogger, Orwell.

He really wished Sarah was working today. He'd need her help to decide which client to take.

**Author's Note: "Anarchy" is IronAmerica's Original Character. Hopefully IA won't mind me borrowing him like that.**

**And hopefully IronAmerica will forgive me for writing a Cape/Chuck crossover that does not involve either of Vinnie Jones' characters. The truth is that I barely remember Vinnie Jones' character from Chuck. (He only guest-starred on Chuck once! What do you want from me?) Further, I can't really remember Summer Glau playing one of the Gretas, but I dared not ignore that fact. I already feel guilty enough as it is for forgetting Summer Glau's appearance on "The Big Bang Theory" when I wrote "The Anniversary Present Hypothesis."**

**Anyway, this is probably a one-shot. I do have three works-in-progress going, after all. But I wanted to make another effort to try to introduce more people to the Cape fandom, and a crossover with Chuck is something that had been discussed, but not yet accomplished.**

**All I can do now is ask for feedback—positive, negative, whatever. I didn't use a beta for this, so everything's pretty much fair game. Also, feel free to ask any questions the fic may have raised. Hey, look at that. There's a review box right over there… **


	2. Chapter 2: Don't Break Even

_Chapter Two:_ _Don't Break Even_

"Mister Fleming, I presume?" Chuck held out a hand as he entered the conference room. After a beat, the billionaire shook it. "Charles Carmichael, I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

"I'm sure you must have had pressing business to attend to," Fleming replied. Not that he could imagine there being something more pressing than keeping an appointment with him, but he didn't need to kill the man for being rude.

_Then let's just go, Peter_, Chess implored. The homicidal alter ego had been against the trip to Carmichael Industries from the start, though he wouldn't come out and tell Peter why. Orwell was as much Chess' enemy as he was Peter's. They had had assassins attempting to track the blogger down, until they had broken ties with Tarot. If the voice in his head had discovered a reason to let the annoyance live, he shouldn't keep it to himself.

Peter let his eyes drift over to the poster on one of the walls and raised an eyebrow.

"Jeffster: You're actually a fan of that crime against music?"

Chuck's smile faded. He took a chair opposite the CEO.

"Carmichael Industries is an official sponsor of Jeffster. Those two are friends of mine."

"My apologies," the billionaire offered half-heartedly.

"Don't worry about it," Chuck shook his head. Jeffster was kind of an acquired taste. "Shall we get down to business?"

"Very well; as you may know, a blogger calling himself Orwell has been publishing libelous posts about myself and my organization."

_It's not libel if it's true, Peter_, Chess piped up.

No way. Chuck was not going to be asked to investigate Orwell right after Orwell's representative had asked him to investigate Peter Fleming…

"You can understand that it's difficult to put him out of business when I don't know who to…sue. Orwell is a master of technology, but from the rumors I've heard, he isn't as adept as you are. I want to hire you to track him down for me."

…Okay. Chuck could handle this. He just had to make sure that the two visitors didn't bump into each other. Oh, and decide which assignment he would take.

That certainly wouldn't have been an issue if he was still working for the government. The spy agencies never offered him a choice of assignments; they told him what he would do. On the other hand, he doubted they'd have told him to help out a (possible) cyber terrorist, as he was considering doing.

But he knew better than most that appearances could be deceiving. Someone you thought was your ally could turn against you; someone you thought was an enemy might have been your father's long lost best friend. And someone who, in Captain Awesome's words, was just "some loser that works at the Buy More," could be the government's secret weapon.

~CAPE~

"Ms. Greenwood," Morgan smiled at the visitor. "Can I call you Julia? Would you like a tour of the facilities, a cup of coffee?"

"Yes to all three," Jamie smiled at the bearded man. "But why don't you start by telling me who that is?" she suggested, nodding to the picture on his desk of him with a young woman.

"Ah, that's Alex, my girlfriend—fiancée, really." He still wasn't sure how Casey, Alex's father, hadn't murdered him when he asked for her hand in marriage. He suspected that someone (Chuck, Sarah, Alex, or possibly all three) had found a way to persuade the colonel not to interfere.

That thought allowed him to get a grip on himself. If Casey saw him flirting with another woman, not even the Intersect would be able to save him from the man's wrath. And he did love Alex more than he'd ever loved anyone…except, possibly, Ellie.

Jamie was about to prompt Morgan for that coffee he'd mentioned when the phone on his desk rang. He picked it up.

"Carmichael Industries, how can I help you? Mr. Bartowski? Hi. Chuck's actually in a meeting right now. Want me to tell him to call you back? You'll be on the computer? Okay, I'll let him know. Good talking to you, too, sir."

"That an important client?" Jamie asked as Grimes got off the phone.

"No. That was Chu, uh, Charles' father."

"Oh. Is Charles close to his father?" Orwell asked, tamping down a surge of jealousy.

"Yeah, they're tight now. Have been since Stephen had a close call with—um, a disease that nearly killed him," he finished, rather than mention the rogue spies that had almost assassinated Orion. "I promised you a tour, didn't I? If you'll follow me this way; the conference room is over there. It's being used at the moment. And over here—"

"Is that Peter Fleming?" Jamie asked, spotting her father through the glass in the door. She took a couple of steps back, praying he hadn't seen her. What the hell was he doing here? Shit. Forget hiring Carmichael, she had to leave now.

"Yeah, he also wants to hire—oh. You said Orwell sent you, didn't you?" Morgan bit his lip, oblivious to the fact that the brunette was reaching a hand inside her purse for her Taser, in case she needed help in making a quick getaway. Before she could pull out the device, the door behind Morgan opened.

"Jamie!" Peter cried. "I knew I saw you!" He pulled his daughter into a hug before she could react. "I thought I'd lost you forever."

"You two know each other?" Chuck asked, following the billionaire out of the room and shooting his friend a look that meant: _All I asked you to do was keep her away from the conference room and you couldn't follow that simple direction?_

Morgan shrugged helplessly.

"I should hope so," Peter said, withdrawing a little but still making sure he held onto Jamie so she couldn't disappear on him again. "Mr. Carmichael, allow me to introduce my daughter, Jamie."

"She's your daughter? Wow," Morgan said. His daughter was working for Orwell, one of Fleming's worst enemies? And Chuck thought he and his mom had issues!

"What are you doing here, sweetheart?"

"I, I just…" She trailed off. It wasn't as easy to lie to him as it was to lie to everyone else, including Vince. Maybe that was because he knew her so well or at least, he used to.

"Well, if that's the case, why don't both of you join me in the conference room and we can sort this whole thing out?" Chuck asked.

"Oh no, I really have to get going," Jamie protested, unsuccessfully trying to disentangle herself from her father.

"That's not what you told me earlier. You said you would wait as long as it takes for me to tell you whether I would take the case," Chuck pointed out. He dropped his smile. "Both of you inside the conference room, now."

"But I—"

"What you need," Chuck said, as Peter guided his daughter to one of the chairs at the table, "is a mediator!"

Both Flemings looked at the computer nerd warily. Charles Carmichael might be skilled at many things, but they suspected mediation was not one of them.

THE END

**Author's Note: No, really, Chuck doesn't know anything about mediation. Any mediator who has seen the episode where Chuck burst out of a wall offering his services as mediator can attest to that. But it was hilarious.**

**I am going to end the story there. I know, it was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but due to popular demand, I expanded it. **

**Thank you to IronAmerica, add291, Orwell, and phnxgrl for reviewing! Thanks also to those who added the story to your list of favs/alerts!**

**Now, as you may know, I've been boycotting NBC. Anyone comparing the dates may note that "Chuck" ended after "The Cape," and so, reasonably, wonder how I could possibly have boycotted NBC post-The Cape. Fair enough. Initially, I only boycotted NBC's new shows. Since Chuck's series finale, I have been boycotting all of NBC's series. **

**Ah, would that The Cape had had something similar to the Subway campaign! How about we start with this? I will take requests for **_**Cape**_** fics from anyone who joins me in boycotting NBC. I am even willing to be open-minded about requested pairings. Review/p.m. for details.**

**If you read this fic and you don't know what The Cape is, I encourage you to take a look at the episodes (still online) and/or look for the DVD. **

**-Suit up. Fight back.**


End file.
